Five delegates of the Second International Crimea Global Conference from Mexico, Brazil, Sudan, and Iraq visited the village of Yahidne in the Chernihiv region. In March 2022, during the occupation of the area, Russian forces detained 368 local residents for 27 days in the basement of Yahidne’s school, using them as human shields for their headquarters, which was located on the school’s ground floor.

Due to suffocation, lack of adequate nutrition, and medical care, 10 civilians died in the basement, as recounted by Ivan Polhuy, a Yahidne resident and survivor, to the international visitors:

“The basement covered an area of 197 square meters, and there were 368 of us. Half a meter per person. There were men, women, elderly people, and children. The youngest prisoner was just one and a half months old. Some died right there in the basement; their bodies remained next to the children until the Russians allowed them to be taken out.”

Afterward, the delegates visited the Chernihiv Regional Academic Drama Theater, which is currently being restored following a missile strike in August 2023. They also met with Ivan Vashchenko, Deputy Head of the Chernihiv Regional Military Administration, and Dmytro Bryzhynskyi, Head of the Chernihiv Municipal Military Administration, to discuss challenges faced by the region, which shares borders with two aggressor states — the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation.

In the second part of the visit, the delegates participated in a panel discussion titled “Victims’ Motivation in the Justice Process: Managing Expectations and Healing from Trauma”, a special event organized by the Media Initiative for Human Rights and the Educational Human Rights House in Chernihiv. Panelists from Ukraine, Syria, Sudan, and Iraq tried to answer pressing questions: How can we avoid raising false expectations among victims of war crimes while fulfilling their demand for justice? How can the justice process be made victim-centered while preventing secondary traumatization?

The discussion was moderated by Olha Reshetylova, Head of the Media Initiative for Human Rights. She opened the conversation by emphasizing the key role of victims in war crimes proceedings, citing the example of the in absentia trial of Russian military personnel involved in the tragedy in Yahidne. She noted that while victims initially showed great interest in the trial, by the appeal stage, no one attended the court hearings.

“The justice process is complex, and without the support of specialized organizations, victims and witnesses, unable to navigate it on their own, lose motivation to participate,” Reshetylova explained.

Sergii Burov, Director of the Educational House of Human Rights — Chernihiv, spoke about the challenges of documenting war crimes, sharing experiences from fieldwork and implementing human rights education programs. He highlighted the importance of providing psychological and legal support to victims, advocating for a human rights-based approach in both documentation and justice.

“In this process, we have two goals: holding perpetrators accountable and telling the world the truth. When interviewing witnesses and victims, it’s crucial that people understand these goals and actively participate in achieving them with us,” Burov said.

Natia Navrouzov, Executive Director Yazda NGO in Iraq, shared the history of genocides against the Yazidis, a religious minority with an ancient faith that dates back 6,000 years. Due to misconceptions about their beliefs, the Yazidis have faced repeated persecution, including during the Ottoman Empire and later from Al-Qaeda. In 2014, Yazidis in Iraq were targeted by ISIS through mass killings, sexual slavery, and abductions. Navrouzov emphasized that despite the efforts of human rights defenders and the UN Investigative Team, tens of thousands of Yazidis still live in temporary camps, and women and children remain in captivity. She called for international collaboration among human rights defenders to establish sustainable and effective mechanisms for holding perpetrators accountable:

“This Yazidi genocide continues because there are no mechanisms to address its root causes. Without resolving these underlying issues, the risk of repeated genocide increases.”

Meanwhile, Fadel Abdulghany, Founder and Executive Director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, focused on the opportunities provided by universal jurisdiction mechanisms in cases where transferring cases to the International Criminal Court is impossible, such as in Syria, where Russia has used its veto power to block such measures in the UN Security Council, thereby “protecting” the Assad regime. While achieving accountability for top officials under universal jurisdiction is nearly impossible, these processes help keep the situation in Syria at the forefront of the UN Security Council’s and the world’s attention.

“Through universal jurisdiction, we secured a verdict in a specific case acknowledging that torture and violence constituted crimes against humanity. This verdict can applied to the entire Assad regime, which has been characterized by such methods. Universal jurisdiction is not a substitute for the ICC but has its advantages,” Abdulghany summarized.

Mohammed Hassan, Executive Director of the Darfur Network for Human Rights (Sudan), underscored the importance of documentation as a key element in obtaining justice for victims of war crimes in Sudan, including the genocides in Darfur. He shared his personal story of loss linked to the genocide and his journey to establishing a network of human rights organizations. He advocated for the systematic collection of evidence to achieve international recognition of war crimes.

“Over these two days in Ukraine, I’ve realized the critical importance of memorialization. In 10 or 100 years, we must know how many people died and under what circumstances. Without documentation, this will be impossible,” Hassan said.

Veronika Plotnikova, Head of the Coordination Center for Victim and Witness Support at Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office, described their work in assisting war victims. The Center began operations in January this year and recently opened offices in nine occupied and frontline regions. Plotnikova stressed that the Center does not engage in documentation or interrogations but focuses on providing victims with comprehensive support throughout the justice process, from psychological assistance to preparing for interviews.

“Currently, we see a lack of communication with victims. They struggle to understand where and what help they can receive in the justice process. We must build state mechanisms so that victims see both the entry and final points of their journey. We are working on this,” Plotnikova said.

The Crimea Global conference is organized at the initiative of the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea / Crimea Platform Office, with co-organizers Media Initiative for Human Rights, ZMINA Human Rights Center,  PEN Ukraine, and with the support of the Centre for Information Resilience.